Home Workshop Professional Lock Tools, by Eddie the Wire, 1996, ISBN 1-55950-136-7, 117 pages 8 1/2" X 11".
Back in the 1980's Eddie the Wire wrote one of the early books on lock-picking directed at the non-locksmith,
The Complete Guide to Lockpicking. In that era acquiring tools was challenging for the non-locksmith, especially good tools. After writing a book on picking, Eddie wrote this book on how to make lock tools in a home workshop. He also made a video, which is (or at least was) on youTube.
Contents:
1.
Lock Pick Design2.
Steel -- He suggests using 1095 carbon steel. Shows some different ways of cutting coils to steel into blanks. He made picks that would be thick by today's standards, 0.025 - 0.031" thick. He goes over purchased steel, not steel salvaged from wiper blades or street sweeper bristle. He is picky about steel, that and he likes to work with wide blanks.
3.
Layout Methods -- Something he strongly suggests is laying out picks specific to given key ways. Examine keys for a given type of key way (e.g., KW1, SC1) and then layout the length of the pick and the height of the pick so as to pick the lock without being too large or small. Basically ensures that a pick can do what it needs do to for each pin, without touching any other pins. Goes over layout dye and scribing layout lines.
4.
Layout5.
Grinding6.
Grinding Coolant --Writes about some methods of applying coolant to grinding wheels, including mist coolant.
7.
Finish Filing -- Filing and stoning.
8.
Polishing -- Buffing.
9.
Handles -- Twisted steel handles, riveted aluminum handles, plastic handles, making your own rivets.
10.
Tension Wrenches -- Has several varieties.
11.
Jeweler's Grinding Tools -- Foredom tool and Cratex
12.
Leather Cases -- Goes over using glover's needles, as opposed to saddle-stitching (saddle-stitching as seen here:
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=62357&p=460499#p460499); using glover's needles would require fewer tools, but only works for very thin leather.
13.
Pick Soldering -- Soldering metal handles, not very realistic in my opinion.
14.
Tempering Pick Steel -- He suggests that it is better to maintain the factory-produced temper of shim steel, but does go over how to harden and temper if one does need to do it.
15.
Lock Pick Inc. -- He writes about how to produce picks in volume. A jig for cutting blanks to size. A design for a paint-can tumbler for polishing picks.
16.
Wafer Tumbler Tools -- By wafer tumbler tools he means Schlage Wafer Locks. Not that common anymore. It takes 4 blanks to make a set of tools (2 of SC6 and 2 of SC22). Might be easier to just buy the tools pre-made (
https://www.lockpickshop.com/SA-01.html. My usual source for small-quantities of blanks
http://mysecuritypro.com would charge $6 for those 4 blanks, versus $17 complete from LockPickShop.com.
17.
Pick Guns -- He has a design, but doubt it is very realistic.
18.
Tubular Locks -- He has a unique idea for a do-it-yourself tubular lock pick. No drawings, just a description.
19.
Plug Spinner -- He has a design that looks like it would work.
20.
Car Opening Tools -- The classic slim jim--not the go-to tool it used to be. Incidentally if anyone makes one of these, a used 1" industrial band-saw blade (with the teeth ground off) works well.
21.
Pin Tumbler Simulator -- Goes over taking a lock and putting rods in for top pins, I suppose so a trainee can see where they are in the lock?
22.
Impression Tool -- Goes over impressioning briefly. Suggests using a hardware store turnbuckle for a handle.
23.
Misc Tools -- Snappers and some bypass tools.
Being twenty years old, it goes over the classic picks: lifters, diamonds, etc., and not any of the newer designs like Bogotas. The idea of custom grinding picks to given key-ways is interesting, and if anyone tries that please let us know how it works. Overall, if one is a die-hard lock pick maker it would be a good book to have.
